Claims Of Detainees' Abuse Draw Inquiry

The Top Military Commander In Iraq Ordered An Investigation Into The Conduct Of U.s. Troops Guarding Prisoners Held Near Baghdad.

January 17, 2004|By Eric Schmitt, the New York Times

WASHINGTON -- The top U.S. military commander in Iraq has ordered a criminal investigation into claims that detainees at the sprawling Abu Ghraib prison outside Baghdad have been abused by U.S. forces, military officials said Friday.

A statement issued by the military command in Baghdad gave no details about the scope or severity of the incidents, only saying that Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, the senior U.S. officer in Iraq, had directed an inquiry into the latest in a string of reported abuses of prisoners.

"The release of specific information concerning the incidents could hinder the investigation, which is in its early stages," the statement read.

A senior Pentagon official in Washington said authorities had been alerted to the possible abuse of detainees in the past few days and were taking the allegations "very seriously."

The U.S.-led occupation is holding thousands of suspected insurgents and criminals at Abu Ghraib, a large prison west of Baghdad that was notorious during the rule of Saddam Hussein for overcrowded cells and torture chambers.

In what authorities hope Iraqis will interpret as a gesture of good will, about 500 Iraqis detained at the prison in recent months for suspected involvement in attacks against allied forces are scheduled to be released.

The inquiry ordered by Sanchez is expected to add fuel to allegations by Amnesty International and many former detainees that U.S. captors have treated prisoners harshly or abused them in certain cases.

Earlier this month, three Army reservists were discharged for abusing prisoners at Camp Bucca, a detention center near Basra, in southern Iraq.

In late December, Brig. Gen. Ennis Whitehead III determined that the three soldiers had kicked and punched prisoners or encouraged others to do so.

Late last year, Lt. Col. Allen B. West, a battalion commander in the 4th Infantry Division, was allowed to resign from the Army after he fired a pistol near a suspected supporter of insurgents during an interrogation in August to frighten him into giving up information about impending attacks against allied soldiers near Tikrit.

West has defended his actions as necessary to protect his troops.

In addition, the Marine Corps has charged eight Marine reservists in the death of an Iraqi prisoner near Nasiriyah in June.